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| PHS ground game powers past Immanuel |
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| Written by Mike Vanden Bosch / Patterson Irrigator / | |
| Wednesday, 12 September 2007 | |
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“We played physical. When we all clicked, we had tackles for losses and (forced) a couple turnovers.” — Keith Yamamoto Patterson High running back  Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator Running backs Gordie Inocencio and Keith Yamamoto met that challenge head on by combining for 206 of Patterson’s 263 rushing yards, including three touchdowns, in a 30-7 win to start the season. “There’s a lot of good that came from this game,” Cozart said. “Teamwise, I definitely saw some good things.” The Tigers (1-0) scored on all three of their first-half possessions. Robby Samano’s 23-yard kickoff return to start the game gave Patterson good field position at its own 41-yard line. From the opening play, Patterson stuck to its bread-and-butter ground game with six consecutive runs from Inocencio, Yamamoto and Samano. Yamamoto capped the opening drive on a 13-yard touchdown run. Eric Mejia’s extra-point kick made it 7-0 with eight minutes, 31 seconds left in the first quarter. Three plays later, 6-foot-4 Immanuel receiver Micah Hiett caught a 73-yard touchdown pass from Peter Aguirre to tie it 7-7 with 6:41 to go in the quarter. Hiett sprinted the final 30 yards down the left sideline in a coverage breakdown.  Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator “Immanuel burned us on that,” Cozart said. “We had a miscue there. That’s youth and inexperience. We’ll get over that, and we’ll get better.” Undeterred, the Tigers shook up their offense with a mix of running and passing. It wasn’t until the 12th play of the game that the Tigers put quarterback Daniel Reza’s arm to use. He connected with receiver Johnny Garcia — his favorite target of the night, with four completions — on a nine-yard pass for his first completion. On third-and-long at the Immanuel 33-yard line, Patterson caught a break when the Eagles were flagged for pass interference. Instead of stalling, the Tigers had first down within the Immanuel red zone. Following four straight runs by Inocencio, who brought Patterson to the 1-yard line, Yamamoto barreled into the end zone on a fourth-and-goal to score his second touchdown. Patterson led 14-7 with 10:43 left in the second quarter after the extra point. On its next possession, Immanuel advanced from its own 28-yard line to the Patterson 36-yard line before the Tigers’ defense buckled down. Josh Mendoza stopped Alan Van Groningen for a three-yard loss, and Jorden Faatiga sacked Aguirre for a six-yard loss. “After that first drive when they scored on a blown coverage, we limited our mental mistakes,” Yamamoto said. “We played physical. When we all clicked, we had tackles for losses and (forced) a couple turnovers.” Once Patterson got the ball back, Inocencio proved his mettle with a 63-yard run that put the Tigers in scoring range. Reza aimed for the end zone on a few pass attempts, but the Tigers had to settle for a 23-yard field goal from Mejia for a 17-7 halftime lead. Rebuffing any hopes the Eagles had of turning the second-half tide, Garcia, playing cornerback, picked up where he left off last year when he returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown. Patterson led 24-7 with 10:17 to go in the third quarter. “I was impressed with the way we responded in the second half,” Cozart said. “We forced them into third down and long. It changed everything.” Patterson buckled down and allowed only 41 yards in the second half, compared with 80 yards in the first half. After Immanuel stalled on its next two possessions in the third quarter, Inocencio finally found the end zone, capping an 11-play, 60-yard drive for a six-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, giving the Tigers a 30-7 lead. “Tonight, the line did really well,” Inocencio said. “They picked up their blocks and did a great job. We capitalized on our opportunities. Our offense did its job. I saw some big holes and an opportunity to run for a bunch of yards.” Inocencio finished with 153 yards on 21 carries, while Yamamoto carried the ball seven times for 55 yards. Reza had runs of 18 and 10 yards in the second half. Junior varsity Poor air quality stemming from fires scattered throughout the San Joaquin Valley forced the junior varsity game into a running clock. Even with less time on the clock, though, Patterson’s JV produced as much offense as its senior counterpart in a 26-6 victory over Immanuel. The Tigers scored early and often, including a 30-yard interception touchdown by Ramone Ellington and a 25-yard scoring scamper from Wyatt Young, good for a 13-0 lead. Ellington found the end zone again on a 20-yard run in the second quarter for a 20-0 halftime advantage. Immanuel avoided the shutout with a second-half score, but Patterson matched that with a 5-yard touchdown by Jeanna Lifungela in the fourth quarter. Patterson’s defense contributed to the victory with two interceptions and a fumble recovery. “We started off the game with a lot of enthusiasm,” Patterson JV coach Steve Cardoso said. “It was sloppy at times, but overall, I was happy. We just need to be more consistent. There’s a lot of stuff to fine-tune.” Patterson’s freshman squad did not play Thursday because of a cancellation by Faith Christian Academy of Coalinga. The varsity next kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Patterson Community Stadium, preceded by the JV at 5:30 p.m. The freshmen will travel to Escalon to play at 6 p.m. Thursday. To reach Mike Vanden Bosch at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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